UK, France, Ukraine to develop ceasefire plan to present to US
The U.K., France, Ukraine, and possibly other countries will develop a ceasefire plan that will be presented to the U.S., U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in an interview with the BBC on March 2.
Starmer is hosting President Volodymyr Zelensky and other leaders in London to discuss how to strengthen support for Ukraine and ensure a just and lasting peace. The summit is even more crucial now after a fallout between the Ukrainian leader and U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House.
The British prime minister and French President Emmanuel Macron, who visited Washington earlier this week, are seeking to mend the ties between Kyiv and the U.S. and present a united front on Ukraine and Russia.
Speaking to the BBC ahead of the summit, Starmer said the joint ceasefire initiative would be "an important step forward" after the heated exchange in the Oval Office on Feb. 28.
"President Zelensky is rightly concerned that if there's to be a deal, it has to hold. That's why we've talked extensively about what are the guarantees - in what way do we all defend the deal if that deal is made," Starmer said.
The U.K. and France have spearheaded the idea of deploying European peacekeepers in Ukraine to monitor a potential ceasefire. Macron and Starmer appealed to Trump to remain involved in maintaining a post-war order, but they failed to receive any concrete commitments as the new U.S. administration expects Europe to take responsibility for Ukraine's security.
The humiliating treatment Zelensky received from Trump and Vice President JD Vance underscored the growing rift between Europe and the U.S.
While most European leaders publicly voiced support for Zelensky after the spat, Starmer called both the Ukrainian and U.S. leaders in an attempt to bridge the rift. The prime minister reportedly aims to tell Zelensky that fixing relations with Trump would be necessary to ensure lasting peace.
Chris York
